TOWN OF ULSTER, N.Y. -- Forcing the cleanup of the Hurley Avenue site where the Empire Mart & Deli was destroyed by fire will include seeking state Department of Environmental Conservation action regarding the removal of fuel tanks on the property, town Supervisor James Quigley said this week.

Quigley told the Town Board in neighboring Hurley on Monday that he's seeking state intervention because the owner of the property, Queens-based New L&J Corp., has not taken steps to prevent environmental problems.

The business, a convenience store and gas station, was destroyed by a fire in February. The property is at 454 Hurley Ave. in the town of Ulster, adjacent to John A. Coleman Catholic High School, but less than half a mile from the Hurley town line.

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"Because they are a regulated petroleum storage facility, there are certain requirements that I'm sure they have been out of compliance with since they closed," Quigley told the Hurley board. "They are required by New York state DEC regulations to keep an inventory of the gasoline in the tanks to make sure that there is no seepage into the groundwater. Without electricity and without people there, I'm sure that they are overlooking that."

Quigley said the town's inability to locate the owner has complicated matters.

"We have been struggling for the last four months to serve them with papers," he said. "They have ... all disappeared into the wind."

Town of Ulster officials also expect to have bank records investigated to determine whether the site owner has recovered any money since the fire.

"It has been suggested that the town contact the financial institution that perhaps held the mortgage against the building to find out if they (the owners) had insurance and if that insurance covered an environmental cleanup," Quigley said. "... If, in fact, the policy holders received a check for the environmental cleanup and they didn't do it, it has been suggested that we pursue actions of the New York State Insurance Department for fraud."

Last week, the Ulster Town Board approved filing a lawsuit against L&J Corp. in state Supreme Court, an action that Quigley said would make it the responsibility of the New York secretary of state to locate the owners.

"By starting the state Supreme Court action, we don't have to chase them," Quigley said.

The Feb. 12 fire was ruled accidental. Spring Lake Fire Department Chief Doc Cranston said it started as the result of a vehicle catching fire while being worked on in a garage behind the business.